Ministry of Interior and Safety selects Incheon for 2026 agency-tailored AI champion consulting program
Incheon Metropolitan City announced Thursday it has been selected for the Ministry of Interior and Safety's "2026 Agency-Tailored AI Champion Consulting" program, as the city moves to strengthen AI and data capabilities within its civil service in pursuit of smarter, AI-driven administration.
The Ministry of Interior and Safety's consulting initiative is designed to help local governments analyze their administrative characteristics and needs from multiple angles, supporting them in developing AI adoption strategies and building a foundation for training specialized talent.
Through the consulting program, which runs from October through November, Incheon plans to develop a tailored action strategy optimized for its local administrative environment.
The city also aims to get ahead of the government's "AI champion certification system," which is set for introduction in 2027.
To that end, Incheon will move away from one-off, theory-heavy training and instead build a practice-oriented education system that civil servants can apply directly on the job.
As part of that effort, the city will partner with the Incheon Human Resources Development Institute to formally establish and operate a regular curriculum beginning in 2027.
The training program will target 120 civil servants in total and will be divided into two levels based on participants' skill levels and roles.
The city plans to maximize both the effectiveness of the training and its real-world applicability by offering hands-on instruction using actual work data and simulated environments.
"This consulting program and the establishment of a regular curriculum will be a turning point in systematically developing AI specialists tailored to Incheon's unique administrative needs," said Son Hye-jeong, Incheon's director of information management.
Going forward, Incheon said it will work to maximize the overall digital capabilities of its civil service and continuously expand data- and AI-based administrative services, with the goal of building a digital local government that citizens can tangibly experience.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
